Punjab Govt All Set to Unveil 4-Month Budget of Rs. 2.1 Trillion Today

The Caretaker Government of Punjab will unveil its second four-month budget for the current fiscal year 2023-24. According to a national daily, the caretaker setup has planned a budget of over Rs. 2.12 trillion which comprises Rs. 1.8 trillion for non-development spending and Rs. 320 billion for existing initiatives. The non-development budget has been set aside for administrative, routine, and operational expenses such as salaries for government employees. Meanwhile, the Punjab Planning and Development Board has reportedly developed a Rs. 320 billion budget for 4,900 development projects. The P&D Board has not given any funding for any new development scheme. If approved, the funds will be available from November 1 onward. This comes in lieu of the current budget of Rs. 1.72 trillion which will expire on October 31 (tomorrow). To avoid any legal issues, the Punjab government sought clarification from the law department which confirmed that a precedent of a second budget by a caretaker setup was available and had been confirmed by the Supreme Court.